Jerry Seinfeld loves a bagel, split, toasted and topped
with peanut butter and honey and cinnamon, and for Lee Zalben culinary heaven
is a sandwich of peanut butter smothered with bread and butter pickles…

OK we’re cool with Elvis and Jerry, but Lee Zalben? Unless you’re a New
Yorker, or an American from elsewhere with a passion for peanut butter, you’ve
most likely never heard of Mr Zalben. But all that is a-changing, for the fame
of America’s revered 'Peanut Butter Guy' is now (if you’ll excuse the pun) fast
spreading across next-door Canada and further afield through the UK, Japan and
Hong Kong…

Mr Zalben has had a love affair with peanut butter since a toddler, his
Mum even resorting to giving him his own container of the stuff after growing
tired of finding the family’s jar with a primary schooler’s finger marks gouged
across the contents.

At school and later college he would captivate classmates with the most
outrageous sandwich combinations, winning their admiration with such
concoctions as one early effort he made for them with peanut butter, carob
chips, dried apricots and orange marmalade.

Today that seems pretty bland fare as he makes a living creating taste
sensations using peanut butter whipped, stirred, blended or spread with
anything from jams to chocolates, Nutella to cream cheese, spicy Thai sauces,
with bacon, on celery sticks, dipped in honey or on apple slices, topped with
coconut, or whipped into chocolate brownies, parfaits, pretzels, ice-creams,
sundaes… and smeared with celery salt and paprika over the Christmas turkey.

When he left school in Philadelphia, Lee Zalben moved to New York City
and got a well-paying job in magazine publishing – but never lost his passion
for peanut butter, and all the mouth-watering things he fantasised about
creating with it.

He also began dreaming of owning a store that would sell those creations,
and one day in 1998 in Greenwich Village came upon a boarded-up shop with a For
Sale sign on it.

Next day, still in his mid-20s, he walked into the publishing house
where he worked and resigned on the spot, went to the real estate office and
put a deposit on the boarded-up shop in Greenwich Village, and then went to the
bank and wangled a $150,000 loan.

In the days that followed he registered the business name Peanut Butter
& Co, turned the forlorn-looking Greenwich Village store into a
smart-looking sandwich shop, and set about going into the fast-food business…
with, until then, his only experience in the industry being some casual work as
a teenager in a frozen yoghurt shop.

And when he finally opened the doors of his sandwich shop, he trumpeted
loud about his extra-special sandwich, The Elvis with all The King’s favourite
ingredients. Intrigued buyers flocked in – numbers helped by the fact the New
York University was just down the road. Within days Lee and a couple of staff
were making hundreds of Elvises a day.

He took on more staff and put his thoughts to other exotic sandwich
creations: The Pregnant Lady (peanut butter and pickles,) The Heat is On
(peanut butter and spicy Thai sauce,) Black & Tan (peanut butter with
chocolate syrup,) a peanut butter topped BLT, Jerry Seinfeld’s bagel with PB,
honey and cinnamon, Mighty Maple with crispy bacon and maple sauce, and The
Bee’s Knees with honey

And for good measure peanut butter with white or dark chocolate, cream
cheese and apple slices, even one topped with Marshmallow Fluff, a peanut
butter and chocolate dessert pie, peanut butter infused cookies and brownies,
waffles and sundaes… specialty peanut butter ’shakes and smoothies, and a baked
sweet potato topped with PB and jam.

Not content, he bought a factory to make and bottle his own products,
and today sells 4,000,000 jars a year of ten different peanut butter blends
through 15,000 supermarkets in America and Canada, as well as in the UK, Japan
and Hong Kong, and online here through www.iherb.com

Hilton
Sydney has officially launched the ‘Seasonal Ingredient Calendar’ campaign to
be rolled out across all of the hotels food and beverage outlets - Glass
Brasserie, Zeta Bar, Marble Bar, Café Cino.

Get Up & Go was invited along to taste the offerings and creations of the Hilton's amazing chefs - verdict is in - perfect pairings of pears with other ingredients. And quite simply - yummy!

Kicking
off with the delicious Corella Pear (currently in season) for the month of
June, this exciting new concept will showcase a singular ingredient on a
monthly basis. Designed to highlight the incredible array of locally sourced
produce, Hilton Sydney’s various outlets will have the chance to get creative
each month with the crafting of a signature menu item utilising the selected
ingredient.

In addition to
creating a signature menu item, Hilton Sydney will offer a variety of other
specials in conjunction with the Seasonal Ingredient Calendar. Guests and
patrons can expect to see stunning new cocktails, snacks, and food items
inspired by the key ingredient each month.

About
Hilton Sydney Centrally located in
Sydney CBD close to shopping and entertainment, Hilton Sydney offers 579 luxury
accommodation rooms and suites plus four dedicated levels of conference and
events space catering up to 3000 delegates. The hotel also features Luke
Mangan’s renowned restaurant glass brasserie, the stylish and award winning
Zeta Bar, iconic Marble Bar and LivingWell Premier Health Club and Day Spa.